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Dale sent me an article from ABJ about removing bees from trees and buildings. I have to get this colony out of the pecan tree down the road. The homeowner is highly allergic to bee stings, and wants the bees gone. A couple of questions: what do I put in the bait hive(a queen?), and will the tree colony queen leave the brood eventually?

According to the letter in ABJ Aug 03, the man has been using a bait hive to remove bees from buildings and trees for years. He builds a special bottom board and mounts a flat board with a wide 2"high entrance against the tree entrance. You build a platform outside on the tree and set a baithive with a queen and excluder above the baithive entrance. The feral bees start using the baithive and eventually migrate to it. The feral hive will die out as the bees migrate, then you seal up the hole in the tree. He said it works better than the screen cone method.

The writer says that you essentially have a 2-queen hive and the scents eventually blend as the feral bees migrate into the bait hive. The bait hive is on a platform, with a bottom board with a 6"x6" hole in it, an excluder above it. The feral bees go into the bait hive, find it's more trouble to go past the excluder to get back into the tree. I'm still wondering how you extract the old queen or if you just seal her up in the tree with whatever is still in there. I haven't decide to try th ebait hive or just smoke and vacuum the bees out.

If you'r in a real hury to get the bees out you can drill a hole below where the hive is in the tree, and putting some bee go in the hole. You may have to use a good bit of it, but it should run the hive out with the queen. bee vac them up and seal the hole.

Any other way and it will take much longer, unless the owner will let you cut the tree down.

&gt;If you'r in a real hury to get the bees out you can drill a hole below where the hive is in the tree, and putting some bee go in the hole. You may have to use a good bit of it, but it should run the hive out with the queen.

Admittedly I've never used bee go, but as I udnerstand it it is heavier than air and falls, so I think you need to drill the hole above instead of below.